


Don't touch what isn't yours!

by Lilith_Lucius



Category: Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator
Genre: Abuse, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Almost Engagement, Almost Kiss, Almost death, Attempted Murder, Background Relationship, Blood, Broken Bones, Comfort, Cute and dark, Dark, Depression, Dislocated bones, Gay, Guns, Implied Sexual Content, Kidnapping, LGBT, M/M, Non-Sexual Bondage, Sadness, Strangling, Trans Male Character, Trauma, Underage Drinking, Whips, cute moments, i'll add more when i think of them, knife, lots of blood, non-sexual whipping, teens being cute
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:39:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26311276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilith_Lucius/pseuds/Lilith_Lucius
Summary: Damien has been dating Robert for a while and their life is becoming slowly more and more domestic but unfortunately, someone has been watching and doesn’t like it one bit.Get's quite dark and isn't mean't to be taken seriously, also I love Damien, I just like making dark ideas.
Relationships: Background Lucien Bloodmarch/Ernest Vega, Damien Bloodmarch/Robert Small, past Robert Small/Joseph Christiansen
Comments: 8
Kudos: 23





	1. Perfect, everything was perfect

**Author's Note:**

> This story is also on my Tumblr 'Harryandhishook'
> 
> This is a story I have completed and if it wasn’t for an anon jumping into my asks to see if I was okay then I would have waited longer to post this. Sorry for the absence for this time but everythings just piling up and I rarely get much time to myself if I’m not doing uni work (Which I graduated :D but I’m going onto a masters) or doing normal adult survival stuff so I hope this is okay.

Perfect, everything was perfect, Damien had a perfect house, a perfect, if somewhat moody, son and a perfect, if slightly dysfunctional, boyfriend, everything was perfect … Maybe not perfect but close enough.

The bright morning light filtered through the curtains, flowing over the beautiful dark coloured carpet and slithering up to drape across the two lumps underneath the red silk sheets adorning the four-poster bed. Soft sounds of snoring filled the room as two men embraced as if their lives depended on it, one gruff and rugged while the other delicate and soft, complete opposites but fit together like two pieces of a jigsaw, maybe not the exact same picture but they go together nevertheless. Nothing could ruin the morning, nothing could interrupt their moment of bliss, nothing at all, except an alarm.

The blaring of Damien’s phone alarm caused the two men to stir, groaning from the rude awakening as the long haired prince of darkness sat up, his hair ruffled and tangled, the obviously two sizes too big, red V-neck shirt hanging off his shoulder as he looked around, his eyes still drooping while he observes the room, trying to get his brain into gear.

Moments of tiredly debating the inevitable wake up and letting his alarm play, Damien finally groggily reached over to his oak nightstand, swiping the screen and silencing the obnoxious disturbance. His hand shuffled around the wood, pushing his phone out of the way to grab his glasses and place them on his face.

Looking around, after giving himself the ability to see, he spotted something that quickly pulled a small smile across his face. Laying on the floor nearby the end of the bed was Roberts black leather jacket.

With a deep breath and his bottom lip between his teeth, the Victorian man carefully shuffled across the silk fabric of his bed, his bare legs slipping out of the covers and over the edge. Once his foot made connection to the fluffy carpeted floor, Damien peered over his shoulder to make sure that his other half was still deep in his slumber before finally pushing himself up.

Tiptoeing across the room, he carefully took the article of clothing in his hands, making sure that no noise could rouse his sleeping lover before slowly pulling the coat over his arms and holding it close to his body. The fading smell of Alcohol and Robert’s musk bombarded Damien’s nose causing the gothic dad to moan in happiness, letting a shiver course down his spine at the familiar aroma giving him a little boost for the day.

While Robert continued to sleep, Damien decided to get ready for the day. Looking over at the dark drawn curtains, he decided against letting the warm sun light up the room, his boudoir was dark but his lover was still asleep and he wouldn’t want to disturb that so he used the small amount of light flowing past the gaps to find his vanity, taking his ornate carved brush in between his long slender fingers and carefully pulling through his long black hair, luckily, the knots weren’t too bad after … last nights adventures … but still enough to make him wince. The Victorian decided to distract himself from the slight pain in his roots by reminiscing, well, more dreaming about Robert, thinking about their romance, thinking about their late-night escapades, thinking about Roberts hands, about his ruff voice about his…

He had not realised just how distracted he had gotten until he felt two strong arms wrap around his body from behind as some prickly stubble grazed his neck and a breathy deep voice whispered in his ear,

“Morning, love” another shiver shot down Damien’s spine as he squeaked from the sudden appearance of his lover, quickly he turned his head, hair swishing over his shoulder as he came face to face with the man he was fantasising about a moment ago,

“Robert, I didn’t hear you get up, darling, how, erm, how long have you been awake?” the goth asked softly, a slight nervousness laced in his voice as he realized just what state of dress he was in, Roberts shirt, Roberts Jacket and nothing else, he was practically naked. His thoughts were interrupted by a low gravelly chuckle,

“Long enough to watch you practically drool over me” he smirked as he wrapped one arm under Damien’s legs, lifting him off the chair so he could sit down, placing the man onto his lap instead, “I woke up just in time to see you smell my jacket” he whispered with an underlining tone of lust but to Damien, he could also hear the love emanating from his voice.

The Victorian squeaked softly and quickly pushed his face into the crook of Rob’s neck, hiding his obvious blush, even in such a dark room, anyone could see the bright crimson gracing over the softer mans face,

“I-I wasn’t smelling it, I was just … reminding myself of your scent, there’s a difference, my dear” Damien argued back, his voice muffled by Robert’s tanned skin, unfortunately the sound of his phone vibrating with notifications stopped him from just hiding under the safety of his bed sheets, “I think my cellular is definitely taking away the aesthetic of my lifestyle” he chuckled softly, peeking out from his little safe spot, moving his gaze as best as he could to see that his lover was staring lovingly down at him,

“I think you wearing my leather is definitely taking away from the look … but it suits you, makes you look a little … rebellious” he smirked as his eyes seemed to move over every inch of the Victorians body until they stopped, Damien watched curiously, following his gaze until he saw exactly what he was staring at.

With a gasp, Damien pulled the red shirt down his legs further, keeping anything out of view as he tried to keep himself composed, unfortunately, the damage had been done and Robert now had the image of Damien’s long, slender legs nestled over his as the red shirt crumpled up his body and revealed … a little too much of his body,

“Robert, as much as a part of me would love to recreate the events of last night, I’m afraid I am under dressed for the day and you must remember, some of us must leave the home for our place of work, so I really do need to go and bathe before Lucien awakens so I can at least provide him breakfast” he tried to argue but it got harder and harder to want to when he felt the familiar feeling of large, rough hands creeping up the inside of his thigh, “a-as I already seemed to h-have wasted some time, my morning bathe will need to be cut shorter t-than usual” he stuttered out, feeling Robert’s hand push past his and under the red shirt, creeping closer and closer to his little treasure, “I n-need to make breakfast a-and make sure I have e-everything and … R-Robert…” he partially moaned out as he felt the fingers of his lover touch the crease connecting his thigh and something that was still quite sensitive, “I-I need t-to get r-ready and I’m already s-sensitive enough a-as it is…” he whispered in the other man’s ear, his breathless argument only made Robert smirk more, his fingers dangerously close to his prize,

“You always seem to give yourself a good few hours and never use it all in actually getting ready, so a little fun before you do get ready shouldn’t be too bad and anyway” Robert’s thumb and forefinger wrapped around Damien’s little dick, rubbing gently, “how about, to help you save time and not have to rush, I join you in the shower?” he asked with the biggest shit eating grin on his face as he watched Damien’s expression change to sheer pleasure, he took it as a win. Earning a whine from the goth as he removed his hand, his arms once again snaking underneath Damien’s legs but this time it was to carry the softer man into the en suite bathroom, spending the next half hour giving Damien a reason to think about him all day … and probably giving Lucien a wake up call.

The rest of the day went off without a hitch, Damien managed to get ready for work in time, breakfast was made with enough time to spare for both him and Lucien since the boy still had school and even though he refused to look either his father or Robert in the eye, probably from the inappropriate wake up call, he gave them a smile before he left. Damien and Robert kissed each other goodbye as they left to go their separate ways with a promise of meeting up again after the Victorian came back from his probably quite exhausting job and that was how the day went.

Finally, when the end of the day came, Lucien was first home like always, stomping to his room to play his obnoxiously loud music, Robert decided it was around time to head over to wait for his lover and also be uncharacteristically nice enough to start dinner for them all to give Damien a little break and once the man in question was home, Robert was there waiting by the door, bouquet of flowers in hand and a warm smile on his face.

However, unbeknownst to them, a pair of eyes were watching them from a distance, a pair of dark, hate filled eyes, glaring at them both while hatching a plan for them because if someone were to have Robert, it wasn’t going to be Damien.


	2. The neighbourhoods monthly barbecue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The neighbourhoods monthly barbecue is upon them and Robert has a secret he's hiding from Damien while everyone is loving the new person that the SmallMarch relationship has turned Robert into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first two chapters of this is a little slow and not the greatest but meh, gets a little story mentioned before we get into the darker stuff

That was how it was for a several months, Mary noticed just how much of a family man Robert was becoming, the neighbours saw less and less of the alcoholics crazy night adventures while Neil rarely ever saw his most regular customer, which he wasn’t complaining about, he was glad the man was becoming better but he also missed listening to the wild stories Robert would tell of cryptids and moth man.

Once again, it was time for the neighbourhoods monthly barbecue, no one really knew how they started this tradition but it was a nice way to spend time together, chat, catch up with dads you might not have seen for a few weeks and have some good food, currently, that’s where Damien and Robert were.

The sun was shining brightly, barely a cloud in the sky as each father stood around the almost too perfect garden, a soft breeze washing through the strands of grass as the men and Mary mingled, all while the kids did their own casual thing.

Damien, Robert, Joseph and Hugo were all currently huddled together, chatting and joking about many things, Joseph flipping a few burgers as they did. A strong arm wrapped around the gothic man’s waist subconsciously as they all told stories about something or other,

“-then, when I was least expecting it, he stole our tents, we were terrified, we knew it had to be bigfoot but being young kids, we ran, I’ll never forget the look on my friends face as he turned to look back, just for a moment …” Robert regaled his time he was almost killed by bigfoot which earned him a playful slap to the chest and a giggly response from his lover which almost made his black unfeeling heart melt even more than it already had around him,

“Darling, that did not happen, stop trying to scare everyone” Damien playfully scolded with the biggest smile on his face, normally he would try and keep up with the lie but he just couldn’t, the love and nurturing look in Damien’s eyes gave him the push to sigh and reveal the truth behind his dark past,

“Fine … we saw a wolf and ran but it did steal our tents and I’m convinced it was a werewolf” the rugged man revealed, holding his whiskey glass out as he pointed to the dads who just stared back at him with raised eyebrows but chuckled at his antics nonetheless,

“Well, it seems your sense of humour and story-telling hasn’t changed” Hugo commented as he took a sip of wine, watching the two love birds shuffle ever closer, it seemed each and every one of the neighbours admired their relationship, all of them showing appreciation for the work and love put into it, Hugo especially, he was one of the first dads in the neighbourhood to congratulate them, expressing how happy he was that Robert was trying to better himself for someone as well as himself, “So, are you two planning anything new? Any holidays?” the teacher asked curiously, he had rarely seen Damien do anything for himself that wasn’t to do with his aesthetic,

“Well, we were thinking about maybe having a little romantic getaway at some point soon, Lucien has recently been on the search for a part time job so I trust him to be home alone” Damien replied as he explained their little plans, however, what made it extremely cute was the fact that Rob was currently trying to keep himself looking uncaring but a soft smile was plastered on his face as he stared off into the distance. None of them noticed a certain clean-cut man grip onto his spatula just a little too tightly while a comfortable silence washed over the group as they all took a sip of their drinks until a small buzz rattled Damien’s trouser pocket. Pulling out his phone with grace, he gasped softly and handed Robert his glass, “I am so sorry to have to excuse myself so suddenly, it seems something has slipped my mind, I will return soon if the gathering isn’t over by then” the Victorian apologised before turning to Robert to give him a soft kiss, “will you be alright on your own, love?” he asked sweetly, placing a softer hand on top of the others larger one,

“I’ll be okay, I’ll scream for you if I see any cryptids try and attack the party so I can protect you” Rob answered, taking the stem of the wine glass that Damien had given him and sliding it onto the food table so he could easily flip his hand over to grasp the long slender fingers gently, raising his lovers hand to his lips, his gaze not leaving the mysterious purple ones as he pressed a kiss to the pale skin, “you don’t need to worry about me, baby boy” he whispered before letting Damien, who now had a soft blush covering his face, leave to go back to his house,

“Can I please just say, that was the most sickly-sweet thing I have ever seen you do, Rob” a young but slightly deep voice commented. Each dad turned their heads to see a disgruntled but smirking Ernest by Hugo’s side, his hands, as always, shoved deep inside the pockets of his hoodie, “honestly, wasn’t expecting Damien to rub off on you so much, you gonna start wearing waistcoats now?” he asked curiously but with a bit of a teasing tone behind his question which was about to receive an exasperated response from Hugo until the alcoholic spoke up with a chuckle,

“He already tried, not my thing but I will say, I looked good, didn’t stay on my body for long, if you know what I-“ his sentence was cut short as a shout could be heard from underneath the boys hood as the young Vega pulled the strings to close it further around his face causing each of the dad, including Joseph, to chuckle as the teen in question ran from the group, “what exactly was he expecting?” Rob asked with a cackle as he downed the last of his whiskey, “So anyw-“

“Dad?” an older voice shouted from behind them, making the group turn to look behind Robert as a lanky, grey haired boy pulled up beside them, “Huh, where’s dad gone?” Lucien asked as he looked around, phone in hand obviously ready to show his father something,

“He went in to take his T, almost forgot, it’s a good job I put all his shot reminders in his phone” Robert answered, shrugging as if it was nothing only for Lucien to groan, obviously annoyed at his dad for forgetting, again from the sounds of it, but decided to show Rob instead,

“I found this outfit for prom, it’s a little pricey but I really like it and I wanted to get dad’s opinion on it, what do you think?” the kid asked the taller man who took the phone from Lucien’s hands, examining the image he obviously had on the device, “I know you aren’t really into the Victorian stuff but … you’re like a second dad to me, so, your opinion counts too” the emo commented with a shrug, looking down at his feet as the boys boots kicked each little piece of grass around. An arm broke Lucien from his shyness as he was pulled into the muscular side of Rob who was now staring at him with a warm smile,

“Like you said, I may not know much about this whole look but I think you’d look amazing … have a look for some others and we’ll see what we can do, alright?” the cryptid hunter spoke, ruffling a hand through the teens hair which definitely earned him a small telling off from the boy before handing back his phone, “Honestly though, you’ll look great and your dad will probably go crazy over whatever you chose to wear” Robert stated as Lucien pocketed the phone with a smile,

“Thanks dad” he turned to walk away before realizing what he had said, turning back quickly to see the biggest grin on the man’s face, “ROB! I meant Rob … shit …” he slapped his hands over his face quickly, the colours draining suddenly from his face as the dads around him chuckled but the teen quickly changed his tune when he crossed his arms with a smirk, “so, did you manage to get it then or you still putting it off” he asked the man, hoping to get the reaction he wanted out of him but his face quickly morphed into pure shock along with their little groups when Robert revealed a small velvet box from the inside of his coat,

“Not this time, I’m not putting it off any longer” he smirked as he hid the ring again, unfortunately that didn’t stop everyone from crowding around him to ask too many questions for him to keep up with which definitely diverted everyone’s attention from the glaring eyes near them, it really seemed like someone did not want this to be happening,

“Foods ready!” a loud and overly cheery voice stated as he turned to face everyone, a gigantic grin plastered on his face, everyone around them quickly moved to go get something to nibble on as they all noticed the enticing smell of food hit them all, except one, while the rest of the Cul-de-Sac happily ate, Robert watched Joseph smile towards him, that large, fake smile he had grown accustomed to, the bags under his eyes were becoming a little more visible and now, the cryptid hunter knew something was wrong, something was going to happen and he didn’t like it, maybe he would have to protect Damien after all.


	3. You shouldn’t have said that Damien!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damien planned his day to make cakes and cookies but it seems an unexpected visitor had another idea on his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where it starts getting dark so from this point on, you have been warned :D  
> TW - Knives, Chased by madman
> 
> For some reason, Ao3 deleted the beginning paragraph and a half of this chapter so I had to fix that, whoops

It had been a few days after the barbecue and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, nothing scary, nothing suspicious, absolutely nothing, but Robert was still on high alert, he remembered Damien coming back shortly after food was announced and the way Joseph seemed to be watching the two of them constantly after that, it unnerved him, no one else noticed but Robert did, he could tell the smile on the Pastors face was fake, he could see the hatred and the scheming in his eyes and now he was worried what the madman was going to do since he had a history with Joseph and his … cult … he knew what type of things to look out for, but at least, for now, he knew Damien was safe and hopefully, so was he.

Right now, Damien was in his home alone, Lucien had managed to persuade Robert to go out with him since he needed a second opinion on various things … and he also wanted to surprise his dad with something nice. So here he was, usual Victorian outfit adorning his body, hair tied back in a loose ponytail and an apron wrapped around his form to not contaminate his clothing with the ingredients from his kitchen as he prepared a few sweet treats for his lover and son on their return home. Damien had noticed Robert seemed off recently and since the man was still quite a private person, he decided to wait until he was ready to reveal what was going on in that head of his but for now, cookies.

The Victorian had just put the first batch in when a knock at the door woke him from his baking daze. Quickly shutting the oven door, he made his way through the halls of his home, discarding the flour coated apron onto a small set of drawers by the entrance so he could pull open the large ornate doors, revealing a smiling Joseph standing behind them,

“Oh, Joseph, my friend, I wasn’t expecting such a visit, what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked as he allowed the other man to enter his home which the pastor gratefully accepted as he passed by the goth and into the hallway of the manor, “I’m sorry about the mess, you seem to have caught me in the middle of baking some cookies and cakes for Robert and Lucien” he explained as he closed the door, grabbing the apron he had left moments ago, “Oh, maybe you could make sure that the cake batter isn’t too sweet or salty since your baked goods are some of the best in the neighbourhood” Damien complimented as he quickly scurried back into the kitchen, hanging the apron beside the beautiful black refrigerator to work his magic on making the room a little more presentable. Unbeknownst to Damien, the religious man’s eyes were glaring daggers into the others back, fist clenched and scowl covering his face, but it was quickly replaced with his sickeningly sweet fake smile when he was expected to give an answer,

“Of course I can help” he moved slowly around the counters to stand beside Damien, noticing for the first time that his hair was up in a ponytail and not flowing around his broad shoulders like normal, “Oh, you do look quite different with you hair up like that, Damien, you should wear it like that often” Joseph commented with a smile before reaching into the batter while the Victorian turned away with a nervous but happy chuckle, taking a bit onto the end of his finger to bring it up to his lips for a taste. After a moment of thinking, he finally spoke, “I think, a little bit more of something sweet and they should be good enough” he advised before turning around to lean against the counter so he could easily talk to the man, “anyway, about the reason I came here, I guess it’s more of a little friendly catch up than anything of importance” he explained as he watched Damien start portioning out the cake batter into the cake tin,

“I am quite flattered that you came over for a little catch up, I must apologise for not having anything to offer you at this moment in time as I was not expecting company” Damien commented as he quickly finished up what he was doing, wiping his hands on a soft cotton towel before carefully adding the tray to the oven, closing the door and turning to his friend, “There, now we can talk in piece for a while, would you like to adjourn to the living room?” the Victorian asked, gesturing to the larger, more elegant room across the hall but the offer was quickly declined,

“I don’t really want to take too much time from you really, I just … I want to ask about you and Robert? I guess, I’ve just been curious, you’re both so different but you work together so well, how do you do it? Does he treat you right?” Joseph asked, moving so he was leaning a little closer to Damien, hands connected in front of him. The Victorian looked a little surprised but didn’t seem too concerned about the questions, he guessed Joseph would be curious since he hadn’t really asked before,

“Oh, well, I … In all honesty, Joseph, I’m not too sure how we work so well together myself, I think it has something to do with our differences quite a bit, I ground him whereas he brings out my more wilder side, I guess we work because we balance each other out quite a bit, he’s such an amazing man, sometimes I worry about him, he’s still so closed off but we are getting there and he treats Lucien as if he was his own, I think it’s helping Lucien too, I love him” Damien rambled, a soft smile on his face the entire time until he blushed, pushing a strand of loose hair behind his ear, “Oh, I am terribly sorry, I must have gotten carried away” he muttered before looking away to stare at a little speck of dust floating around the room, all the while, Josephs hand shuffled closer and closer to a dirty kitchen knife that was laying not too far away from him, his eyes seemingly becoming pitch black as he grew angrier by the minute,

“Did he tell you about me?” Joseph asked, his voice laced with venom, causing Damien to peer back up confused, “Did he mention our past? Our affair? What he used to do to me on my yacht?” Josephs voice became darker and darker as his fingers connected with the handle of the knife, he could see Damien slowly becoming confused and slightly shocked at this revelation,

“He … never told me …” the Victorian whispered as he placed a hand over his chest as if that would help his impending heartache, “Why are you telling me this, Joseph?” he asked, his eyes glossing over with unshed tears as he watched the youth minister,“I wanted to warn you, Damien, you’re a friend, I don’t want you to get hurt with his lies” Joseph warned, hoping that the man would take his ‘advice’ and throw Robert to the dirt for him to hold close and comfort, if he couldn’t have his Robert, no one could, “Damien, he will lie, he will hurt you and I know Lucien doesn’t want that for you, I am warning you now because I think he might do something crazy soon” as Joseph spoke of the man’s troubled mind, Damien stood in thought, Rob had been keeping something inside recently, he had been hiding something and he knew it, he knew something was wrong, what if this was it, what if Robert wasn’t who he had said he was, what if this had all just been one big lie, the Victorian fell further and further into these thought until, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted one of Roberts many pocket knives,

“No … I … I don’t believe it, I can’t, he’s been treating Lucien like a son, he’s be acting so sweet to us, it’s like he’s one of the family, l refuse to believe he would do such a thing” Damien argued as he turned to face Joseph, unfortunately for him, that wasn’t the right answer as he saw the man’s fingers curled around the handle of the knife, “J-Joseph?” the Victorian asked, his breathing becoming heavier as he slowly backed away from the youth minister, his eyes seemed to almost be completely black, dark bags appeared underneath as his shakes terrified Damien to the core,

“You shouldn’t have said that Damien, you should have taken my warning, you shouldn’t have fallen in love with my Robert!” he growled as he lunged forward, stabbing the knife down into the countertop beside Damien who screamed in fear, pushing himself out of harm’s way but it didn’t stop Joseph from quickly pulling the knife from the counter top and lunge again, however, as Damien turned to run, his cloak was caught by the knife once again stabbing into the countertop, making the man gasp and watch as a smirking Joseph grew closer, “Got you now” he whispered, making the goths eyes widen. With a bit of fumbling, Damien released his cape from their connections on his shoulders before bolting, leaving behind a now slightly tattered cloak and a very pissed Joseph who did not waste any time in chasing after the mouse in his little game.

As Damien ran into the hallway, he had two option, the smart option or the stupid option, however, the smart option would require more time as Joseph was quick on his feet, his front door was pretty heavy and by the time he could open it, Joseph would have grabbed him, on the other hand, his house was one of the biggest in the neighbourhood and practically a maze, so the stupid option was the best.

Grabbing the closest wooden table he could see in the hall, Damien threw it to the floor with a loud crash, hoping to trip Joseph up as he quickly pulled himself up the stairs and towards the many doorways, Joseph hot on his trail. Damien examined his options quickly, the library had no hiding spots so that was a no go, his room was too clean and perfectly set out to make a diversion but Lucien’s room, Lucien never cleaned his room and it would be hard to see any clues of hiding.Running down the hall, Damien threw open the door to his room before darting into Lucien’s instead, hoping to throw the Pastor off as he quickly opened Lucien’s closet to attempt any sort of hiding, unfortunately for him, there wasn’t much room but it would have to do. Climbing into the cramped space, the Victorian closed the door as quietly as he possibly could just as the blonde-haired man slid into the room. Growling under his breath as he looked around, Damien’s heart started beating erratically at every passing moment and as every footstep grew closer to the closet, the tears finally slipped uncontrollably down Damien’s face, he was terrified, he knew for a fact this was not some cruel joke since, JOSEPH WAS USING A GOD DAMN SHARPENED KNIFE.

Suddenly, the footsteps disappeared, storming out of the room angrily and leaving Damien alone in the closet. Seconds felt like hours as the Victorian waited, he waited for any sign of Josephs retreat and since he had left his phone downstairs there was no way he could call anyone to aid him, however, maybe if he could sneak downstairs and grab it, then he could. So, with delicate hands, Damien opened the closet doors, taking a cautious step out to test the waters before pushing himself completely from the tight space and creeping across the room, each little noise making the man wince.

When Damien finally reached the door, he slowly and as silently as possible peeked his head out, looking both left and right before quickly tiptoeing towards the stairs and with the quietest of steps, shuffled down them, keeping his back against the wall as he did without keeping his eyes away from any corners Joseph could be hiding behind. Everything seemed to be going fine, perfectly in fact, which scared him even more but that was his priority. With an almost animated stretch of his leg, Damien made it into the kitchen, running to his phone to call Robert without a moment’s hesitation … until the feeling of a rag wrapped around his nose and a pair of strong arms pulled him into a solid lump of pectorals as he kicked and screamed, dropping his phone with an audible crack of the screen but unfortunately, the person behind him was much stronger than him, stopping the goth from escaping as he succumbed to the black realm of unconsciousness.


	4. DAD?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucien and Robert return from the outing to find an empty house and a missing Damien.

Everything was quiet around the tall black manor but that’s how the Bloodmarch household was most of the time and as Robert and Lucien pulled up to the house, parking the beaten read pickup truck in the driveway, they had no reason to believe any different,

“Thanks for coming with me, I hope dad likes all the stuff I’ve bought” Lucien stated with a smile as he climbed out of the truck, reaching into the little compartment behind the seats to grab their bags, “I just hope he isn’t too upset I asked you to take me instead of him” he added, slamming the door shut with his foot since Rob was already waiting in front of the truck without a single bag in hand to help,

“He won’t be upset, I know he won’t, not once you give him that gift of yours” he reassured, finally moving to grab a bag from Lucien’s hands, slugging it over his shoulder as he sauntered towards the doors to the house which were weirdly open, “Any reason why your dad would leave the front door open?” Rob asked, peering over his shoulder to see Lucien shrug a little as he finally joined his side,

“Not really, unless someone’s came over and they can’t stay for long but even then, they usually stand on the porch …” he answered, trying to sound as nonchalant as he normally is but it seemed that even Rob could hear the underlining fear in his voice.

The were both quick to reach the doorway, opening them completely to retrieve the answers they desperately needed only to gasp at the sight that met them, a table flipped over on the floor with one of Damien’s favourite vases smashed into a thousand pieces across the hall,

“DAD?” Lucien shouted as he placed his bags down beside the door, running inside to look around frantically, “DAD? THIS ISN’T FUNNY, WHERE ARE YOU?” He screamed out as he looked in each room he could get to for any sign of his dad until, “Fuck!” Robert dropped the bags, running through into the kitchen to assist the boy but soon found he instantly regretted his choices as he covered his nose from the ghastly smell that assaulted him,

“What the fuck?!” the older man growled as he rushed to slam open the windows, turning off and opening the oven to which a large cloud of black smoke flew out, attacking the two with a vicious feeling of suffocation, causing Robert to cough harshly, “Lucien, go find Damien …” he demanded as he examined the rest of the room as best as he could, this wasn’t like his lover at all, he never left the oven unattended. Grabbing a towel, he quickly directed most of the smoke out of the window, clearing the area around him the best he possibly could with the minimal ways to disperse the growing cloud, unfortunately for him, he could now see everything a lot clearer and it seemed that the first thing he noticed was the knife sticking out of something all too familiar. Dropping the towel in a blind panic, the man yanked the knife from the cloth, lifting it up to examine the damage and possibly a lead on the strange circumstances that were happening, but, from his weirdly large knowledge on knives, the rip in the fabric wasn’t accidental.

A thousand thoughts ran through the man’s head as he back himself through the room, he was terrified something could have happened to Damien, something bad, something like … a sudden crack underneath his foot captured his attention causing him to be unexpectedly ripped from his dark thoughts, looking down he noticed something glistening, something that wasn’t there earlier. As Robert moved his foot, he immediately hated every decision he had ever made up to this point of life as laying underneath his foot, smashed on the floor was Damien’s phone.

Without a moment’s hesitation, the man picked it up, opening the device the best he could which to his surprise still worked and quickly threw himself into detective move, unfortunately, the last thing that was opened was a caller information page, his caller information page which could only mean Damien had tried to call him but didn’t manage to make it that far. His inner self was interrupted when Lucien came racing into the room,

“He’s not in his room, or the library, I don’t think he-” the young emo’s words were cut off when he saw what Rob was holding, his eyes widened and his hands shot up to his mouth, “No … he … we have to find him, we … he can’t be … oh my god …” Lucien whispered as he stumbled backwards, falling to his knees as tears streamed down his cheeks, his dad could be hurt or … he couldn’t register anything circling in his head as two arms wrapped around him tightly and another voice sobbed along with him.


	5. I'm sorry Lucien

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joseph has taken Damien somewhere dark and cold, knowing full well that he will never see the light of day again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW - Blood, Physical Violence, locked away

Darkness, that was all Damien could see around him. Everything was cold, the deafening sound of water dripping into small puddles echoed through the room, assaulting his senses as the man finally became aware of himself, realizing something was binding him down to the ground making it almost impossible for him to move while a blindfold was tightly wrapped around his face, leaving his sight nothing but black and empty.

The Victorian moved around in desperation, knowing he was trapped with limited possible escape, the chains around his wrists rattled with every movement and the ropes around his torso, binding his arms tightly against him, made it harder and harder to breath. He continued to struggle, panic building up as he realized he had been taken away without anyone knowing a single thing, Lucien, Robert, his friends, no one would know where he was or who took him, he was alone, he was going to die and he knew just whose hands he would meet his demise by,

“Glad to see you’re finally awake, Damien” a dark, echoing voice spoke out, causing the goth to jump from shock, he hadn’t heard anyone enter the room but here he was. Footsteps tapped closer and closer until Damien felt a single chilling finger underneath his chin, pulling his face up to where he believed Joseph’s face must be, “You know, I honestly never wanted to do this to you but … you left me no choice, you should have just backed away from all this, you should have taken my warning” the man stated before the world suddenly came into view and Damien’s eyes were forced to quickly adjust to the dimly lit dungeon like room around him, the blindfold that once was around him, now lay in Josephs hand as the Victorian took in just how crazy the Pastor looked.

Josephs eyes were sunken in with not a single gleam of light, a sadistic smirk pulled across his face with hardly a single trace of remorse or empathy anywhere, his normal pastel clean outfit was now replaced with a long black priests robe and his hair seemed just that little bit more dishevelled then normal,

“Joseph, please, whatever you think you want to do, stop, this isn’t worth it, please, just let me go and I won’t say a thing” Damien pleaded as he tried his hardest to escape his bonds but his plea were cut short when a hand forcibly grabbed a chunk of his hair, pulling the goth from the ground and as close to the cultist face as possibly who did not look too pleased,

“You stole my Robert away! You took him from me! I have every right to show you just how much you ruined everything!” Joseph growled, his eyes almost glowing as black as the cultists dead shrivelled heart while Damien winced, letting a pitiful whimper escape past his lips, giving his captor reason to smile like the madman he was, “Oh, I think I like this, I think I like the sound of your pain” he chuckled darkly, raising the hand that wasn’t currently tangled in the Victorians hair, clenching it tightly into a fist before bringing it down with as much brute strength as possible, connecting his knuckles with Damien’s face causing a sickeningly loud crunch echoed through the twisting halls of the dungeon. Damien whimpered in pain and terror, shaking in fear as he felt the throbbing burn running across his face but it didn’t stop the other man’s sadistic torture, only making him continue harder and seemingly more aggressive, almost as if he was getting off on the basic violence.

Finally, after several long agonising minutes of Joseph using the goth, to his sick pleasure, as a punching bag, Damien’s once soft porcelain face was now coated in fresh layers of blood as deep dark bruises formed quickly, and it seemed he had also possibly cracked his cheek bone. Joseph threw the now drained Victorian to the ground, earning a hiss of pain from him but nothing much else as Damien’s eyes were drooping low and his breathing had become laboured,

“J-Joseph … please … I’m s-sorry” Damien whispered, his hair spread out around his head as he continued to lay bound on the floor, his once crisp white shirt was now dirtied with droplets of red down the front, his cravat undone and laid in front of him, slowly, he was becoming undone but he wasn’t about to break, he wasn’t going to wish for death or beg for his life, that was what Joseph wanted and he was going to try his hardest to live, he was going to continue to try and escape, he was going to make it out of here with or without anyone’s help,

“Dear Damien, you have already sealed your fate, no one will ever find you, have fun being alone for the rest of your miserable life” Joseph taunted, laughing out loud as he turned on his heel, his dark voice seemingly sticking against the walls, taunting the partially unconscious, bleeding man spread out on the cold hard floor.

As tears spilled out of the goth’s eyes, mixing with the drying blood around him, he could only bring himself to think of one thing, the only thing that was important to him in his entire existence,

“I’m sorry Lucien … I’m sorry”


	6. Have you eaten yet?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ernest tries desperately to get his friend to eat but Lucien is too far gone to want to listen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m gonna upload another chapter right after this one because it’s been ages, I’ve started Masters and I barely have time to myself.
> 
> TW - Refusal to eat, mild violence

It had been days now and not a single piece of information had been found on Damien’s whereabouts, no evidence had been found apart from Roberts fingerprints, there were suspiciously no others but with an alibi and CCTV footage of Robert and Lucien’s location, neither were suspects. The neighbours were all out of the question too, each of them having a pretty strong story to their names, including Joseph.

Given the circumstances of the current situation, Lucien was given permission to stay home from school for a while as long as Hugo, as his teacher, checked in on him to update the headmaster, however, as his neighbour, it was more to make sure that Lucien was still alive and eating.

On the other hand, Robert was worse than anyone could imagine, he had decided to stay with Lucien, never leaving the house once, the two would just lay beside each other, staring at the ceiling and silently cried together. If it wasn’t for Mary and Hugo, they wouldn’t be eating at all, neither one of them really wanted to since they were constantly bombarded with police and detectives coming and going, the stress, the heartbreak, the worry, it was too much for either of them to want to function, no matter how much people tried to convince them to keep going for Damien, they couldn’t and this is how Ernest came to be sat in the Bloodmarch house, watching Lucien stare at a single photo he had taken of his father quite recently,

“Have you eaten yet?” the young Vega boy asked, playing with the bright orange strings of his hoodie. Minutes passed and the emo still hadn’t answered, he hadn’t even moved, almost like he had been transformed into a statue, the chill that filled the room from the tension was enough to freeze everything around them, “Lucien, please, you need to eat…” Ernest tried again, his voice straining with worry but he was still not getting any movement from the boy across from him. Looking down at his hands, he sighed, trying his hardest to keep his composure for his friend, knowing he would have to bring out all the stops for this, “Damien wouldn’t want this…” he whispered, he knew that would get a reaction but no one warned him of just what type of reaction he would get when he suddenly heard something whiz past his ear with enough force for him to feel the air around him move harshly.

Looking up, Ernest finally saw the state of his friend, his eyes were puffy and red, his body shook with heartbreak and anger as he glared daggers across the room into the orange clad boy while reaching out to grab something else, ready to throw it back towards Ernest,

“YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT MY DAD WOULD OR WOULDN’T WANT FOR ME!” The emo screamed as he managed to clumsily throw a pillow at the Vega boys head, causing Ernest to practically vault over the couch, holding his hands up in defence,

“Woah, hey, I wasn’t insulting you, I’m just trying to help” the boy yelled back not with anger but with concern as he tried to reason with the heartbroken Lucien, “you’ve barely been eaten, I’m worried” he stated, dodging the incoming attacks thrown towards him, unfortunately, his words were met with more hostility,

“IF YOU WERE WORRIED ABOUT ME, YOU WOULD HELP ME TRY FIND MY DAD!” Lucien screamed, tears now streaming down his face but soon, his anger was replaced with sorrow as he fell to his knees, sobbing his heart out as he tried to throw more things at Ernest but barely managing to lift up his arms, “I want him back…” he whispered and sadly, anyone within a mile radius could hear the shattering of Lucien’s heart. An orange hoodie surrounded the young emo’s view as he was suddenly cocooned in warm comforting arms, droplets of something cold landed on his shoulder as a weak voice whispered beside him,

“I don’t want anything to happen to you, please Lucien, we can’t lose you too, I can’t lose you” Ernest pleaded, his shoulders shaking as he held onto his best friend tightly, his fingers curling harshly into Lucien’s shirt as they stayed huddled together on the floor for a while,

“Alright … I’ll eat …” Lucien mumbled, his voice croaky from the shouting and hardly being used for the previous days, “But only because you asked, Ernest” the emo confirmed, carefully pushing himself up off the ground with a slight wobble before making his way to the kitchen while a smiling Ernest followed behind, happy that he wasn’t about to lose his friend.

Little did either of them know, directly underneath them, in the many rooms of the towns hidden dungeon, a man they thought to be gone was still laid, chained up, bleeding and unconscious, all the while, the eyes of the most looked up to man in town were taking in the misery and brutality he had inflicted on the Victorian.


	7. It's fun!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joseph has a special plan for Damien and he's going to have fun doing it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bonus chapter because of how long it took me to actually upload anything :) also just a note, I may take a while to do anything, including actually trying to write requests (I feel so bad since I haven’t finished requests from ages ago).
> 
> TW - Violence, restraints, knife

Time was gone, the flickering flames of the candle around him made it seem like the world had only past by a single day, he couldn’t tell anymore, he didn’t know, and he was so exhausted.

Slipping in and out of consciousness, Damien laid against the stone wall, shivering and beaten, the chains around his wrist digging into the raw flesh he had accidently created from struggling to break free, the ropes now gone from his body but in his weakened state, he barely registered the missing restraints.

Just as the man was about to fall back into his unconscious state, a firm hand grasped his hair once again, forcing him away from the wall and onto his knees causing the Victorian to wince in pain from the long unwanted torture he had already endured,

“You seem exhausted, Damien” Joseph taunted as he pulled at the long black hair sweeping down the goths back, making him face his tormentor, “I’m not quite done with you yet for today” he sneered, gripping tightly onto the man beneath him as he revealed the hidden knife he had been holding behind his back, raising it to Damien’s eye level, watching as his eyes widened in fear, “don’t look at me like that, old friend, I’m not going to kill you … right now at least” the Pastor chuckled darkly, the tip of the blade moving to gently caress Damien’s cheek, cold metal sliding down his white skin, “it a shame about your pretty clothes, I did very much like you style, so prim and proper, elegant almost, but your hair, I never did like you hair, too long for my liking, at least Hugo and Matt tied theirs up neatly” Joseph commented, the blade slipping from Damien’s face to his neck, the body underneath tensed, eyes closing in panic but it seemed the blonde didn’t like it as he yanked the Victorians hair harshly, pressing the metal roughly down, cutting the skin of Damien’s neck slightly, “LOOK AT ME WHEN I AM TALKING TO YOU! Don’t you have any manners” he growled, forcing his victim to open their eyes again, the blade, thankfully, was pulled away from his neck to which the goth let out the terrified breath he had been holding in, “Good boy, now, let me do something about your hair” he whispered with that biggest smirk anyone had ever seen on a single man’s face.

As Joseph moved around with a sinister expression pasted on his face, Damien’s hair still gripped tightly in his hand as the goth frantically tried to be released from his grasp, pulling painfully against the restraints on his arms but to no avail. He watched as the blade disappeared away from his vision, no longer giving him any stability in the situation, he couldn’t asses what would happen, he couldn’t try and control the outcome, he had nothing to keep him grounded,

“Joseph, stop” Damien begged, he didn’t care what injuries the man inflicted onto him but his hair, not only was his hair important to him but it scared the living daylights out of him that this man was so angry at him for something so small as hair, if this was all it took to make him angry, he didn’t want to know what else would do the same.

It seemed, however, his pleas went unheard as the Pastor chuckled, using a leg to push Damien forward as his hair stretched out behind him, pulling his head back with force, the pitiful groans of pain bouncing off the walls and echoing back to Joseph, the grin on his face becoming impossibly large until all Damien could hear was silence, no movement, no taunts, there wasn’t even a single tug on his hair as the seconds passed, everything was still or so he thought.

The blade came down with what sounded like a comic book sound effect, slicing through Damien’s silky long hair in a singular chop, the long chunk in Josephs hand falling limp as the Victorian fell forward with a yelp, landing roughly on the course ground.

Damien’s eyes widened the moment he looked up and saw his once flowing hair now being held by his ex-friend. With as much strength he could muster, Damien pushed himself into a seated position, arms shaking from his aching muscles as he tried to hold in his emotions, a single tear already running down his face,

“Why are you doing this?” he asked, managing to coax a little confidence out of himself, he knew it could end badly for him but he could guess that it was going to be the only way to get anything out of the cultist, “If you’re trying to prove something, to make me regret my decisions of being with Robert, then why, you’re just going to kill me anyway, why not just kill me now and get it over with?” Damien asked, an almost defiant tone wrapped tighter and tighter around each word that was said and even if those words were not enough to make Joseph explain himself, it did give him a slight insight to the man’s mind,

“Because, my dearest Damien” his tone taunting and hollow as he moved around the man cowering on the ground, “It’s fun” he answered, his hand flying through the air, connecting with the Victorians face and throwing him to the ground once again as he walked away, Damien’s hair still lay tightly in the Pastors hand.


	8. Mr. Christianson has a cult?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mary tries her hardest to cheer both Robert and Lucien up, it works ... until it doesn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a long time of updating this, university is a bitch :( but at least I have this story complete and ready to upload the chapters when I want :D
> 
> TW - Mentions of Cult (Just in case someone has bad or traumatising memories of cults)

Lucien sat in his home, phone in hand as he stared at the date, eyes blurred for the hundredth time that day as he let a couple of unshed tears fall down his face, Robert and Mary sitting across from him, alcohol bottles in hand and sombre looks etched onto their faces.

It had been a week, a week since they had come home to an empty house, a week since Lucien had lost his dad, a week since their lives were thrown into some broken emotional rollercoaster. With a lot of inner turmoil and conversations with himself in the mirror, the emo had decided to continue with his school work at home to distract himself while also trying to keep himself alive for his friends and for his father, if he ever came back.

On the other side of things was Robert, if people were worried about Lucien, they were definitely worried about him. The rugged man had not left the house, barely ate and, unfortunately, drank more and more. The bins had been filling up with bottles of whiskey and beer, mainly because Mary has been cleaning up after the two but today, with a bit of convincing and a bottle of beer for Lucien, they were all sat, in silence, together, alone with their thoughts, it wasn’t until Mary finally broke the silence that anything had been actually said that day,

“Okay, this is depressing, Damien would not want us to wallow in self-pity, so come on, let’s talk” the woman stated, wine bottle gripped tightly in her hand as she looked between the two others, hoping to get something out of either, “Come on, anything, talk about your feelings or memories or what you want to do in the future when Damien is found safe and sound, anything” she begged, hoping that she could coax even just a single word but after a few minutes of continued silence, she sighed, knowing that nothing was pulling these two out of their pits of despair until she saw it, a single movement out of the corner of her eye, Robs hand moved.

Turning her head slowly, she saw the depressed man in leather, pull out a small box, glaring down at it, eyes filled with heartbreak and anger as he gently twirled it in his hand,

“I was going to do it …” he whispered, his voice coming out shakily and weak but he continued, opening himself up just a little which caught the attention of Lucien who was now watching him over the top of his phone with sympathy, “I was going to propose, me and him, the graveyard, a picnic, it was going to be perfect, maybe even Betsy … poor girl’s probably wondering why your looking after her, I was going to finally be in a family who wants me around …” he revealed, voice cracking as he wrapped his fingers almost painfully tight around the little velvet ring box, a few tears spilling over and sliding freely down his face, “But I can’t …” he finished, leaving Mary dumbfounded at the sudden truth, she had never seen this man spill something so quickly, usually it came with about ten shots of whiskey and a couple of bucks, but this time, the man was so broken, it was almost like his dark demeanour had been ripped away from him. The young woman sighed, shuffling a little closer as the grey-haired boy pushed himself off the chair he had been seated on, to snuggle into the man’s side, trying to give and take as much comfort as they both needed,

“We’ll get him back, he’s strong, he’s a fighter, he didn’t get this far in life to give up now, that man is the bravest man I have ever met, I mean, come on, he willingly got his chest chopped off and injects himself with Testosterone every day, he’s done too much for it all to be taken away, Damien will come back, I know he will” Mary reassured, taking Roberts much larger hand into her own, covering the velvet box within their grasps, however, it seemed that that was all the man needed to push his breakdown over the edge.

The normally mysterious man was now a sobbing mess, his face hiding in the free space of Mary’s neck as he used his other arm to keep Lucien pressed into his other side, their bodies practically laid on top of each other as they each let their emotions out in their own way. It took a while before a soft sniffle from Robert grabbed their attention as he spoke,

“H-Hey Mary … don’t hate me on this but … when the police first got here and told us there was no sign of Damien or any criminals…” he took a deep shaky breath before slowly continuing with a little chuckle, “I almost blamed Joseph and his little cult” he joked, hoping to lighten his mood up slightly, Robert knew Mary would understand but he almost didn’t noticed the sudden movement of Lucien’s head, looking up at the rugged man with curiosity and confusion, “I guess I just wanted someone to blame and … well, our history isn’t the greatest” he finished with a dry chuckle but his train of thought was quickly interrupted by a voice cutting into the conversation,

“Back up … Mr. Christianson has a cult?” Lucien asked, eyes wide and head tilted as he pushed himself up on the sofa causing both Mary and Rob to glance at each other wearily, “what do you mean by cult? Also, what history? I thought you just always hated him, I never actually thought it had a story to it” Robert was about to stop the boy, possibly try to change the subject until he felt a gentle hand touch his arm as the woman beside him gave him a soft smile, leaning in to whisper in his ear,

“Maybe you should tell him a little, I haven’t seen him talk this much since Damien’s disappearance” she commented, placing a single finger to Roberts cheek to turn his head toward Lucien who was now sat up on his knees, staring over at the man inquisitively.

The older man sighed with a soft shake of his head, pulling himself up into a sitting position as he readied himself to bring back old memories that had been ‘buried’ for so long,

“Okay, you want to know about Joseph and me?” Robert asked, realizing that there was still a bottle of whiskey on the coffee table in front of him, so, as Lucien nodded his head enthusiastically, obviously trying to distract himself, the alcoholic leaned forward, pouring himself a glass of some expensive Macallan that Damien had bought for his birthday a few months previous, before downing it in one, the burning of the liquid down his throat giving him the slight boost to materialize his story, “it started long before you and your dad moved in, well, not that long really, only a few years before you both wandered into town, you were probably just becoming a teenager around this time” he explained, leaning back into the comfortable sofa, elbows resting on the back of the furniture as he thought back, pushing through all the locked door of his mind to try and find the one he was hoping to someday forget about, “It was around Marilyn’s birthday and as usual, I went to the bar to drink away my sorrows, normally Mary would come and keep me in check but this year, she was away with some old collage buddies so I was alone and at that point, I wasn’t overly concerned if I died from alcohol poisoning …” he glared at the bottle in front of him but it quickly turned into a frown of disappointment as he continued, “until Joseph wandered into the bar, I was too far gone to notice him really but he knew all the right things to say to me and before I knew it, I was on that god damn yacht of his and we, well, you probably know where that was going, anyway, after that night, I promised myself I would never go back and I’d never tell Mary, I couldn’t, she was my best friend but … I couldn’t pull myself away from him, he told me he loved me, he told me he was going to leave Mary to be with me, and I believed him, he told me about this silly little cult he had started when Chris was born, he told me he just wanted something in place to protect his family, so I joined, that’s what the tattoo’s for but not long after, I realized what I had done and I couldn’t hold it in anymore so I told Mary, I ended it with him and cried to someone I thought I had ruined my friendship with” he slowly turned his head to Mary and squeezed her hand softly, trying to anchor himself from the memories, “but she didn’t leave, she was angry and upset obviously, but, she never left and eventually we managed to form a better friendship over hating the stuck up man she calls a husband and blaming his cult for anything that happens around here” with a sigh, he moved his gaze back to the teenager, his eyes wide and jaw slack over the story he had just heard, “So now you know about me, Joseph and that little cult of his” he finished, a strange heavy weight lessened on his chest, helping him realize that he could strangely breath clearly once again,

“So, let me get this straight, Josephs not as good as he presents himself?” Lucien asked curiously, a slight hint of anger laced in his voice, “He’s a pastor, I know everyone ain’t prefect but really? He’s a liar, a cheater and a cult leader, I mean, the whole cult thing doesn’t sound like a massive deal but still, he’s Christian isn’t he?” the young emo sighed and sat back on the sofa cushions with his legs crossed in front of him, “Sorry … I’m getting angry over something that I shouldn’t, I just…” he paused for a moment, looking down at his hands as he thought but soon, realization hit him like a sack of bricks as his lips curled into the softest of smiles, the tips of his nails playing with the cracking edges of his nail varnish as he gazed back up at the pair of adults beside him, “thanks, for distracting me, for just a moment, I completely forgot about all this shit, I’m glad we have you two …” the boy changed his position slowly, shuffling once again back into Roberts side, eyes slipping shut as he felt his body relax for the first time in a while, “I’m glad I’m going to be able to call you my step-dad” he whispered softly, the words barely audible but just enough for the two others to freeze, staring at the teen curled up against the man’s side.

With slight hesitation and worry of disturbing him, Robert carefully wrapped his arm around the young boy, placing his much larger hand over the teens in an uncharacteristically fatherly way, the love and awe he felt made the man’s heart pump just that little bit faster as he allowed the moment of uninterrupted bliss to wash over him, well, maybe somewhere around twenty seconds as all their heads shot up at the sudden sound of a loud yet slow knock on the door,

“Who the fuck … perfect god damn timing, I swear to god if this isn’t someone bringing up alcohol or junk food, I’m gonna scream” Mary growled as she pushed herself from the sofa, allowing the other two to continue their little cuddle, “I’ll be right back, hopefully with more booze” she smirked, sending a wink to the boys as she sauntered herself out of the room to answer the door, everything seemed to be quiet for a few minutes, no loud voices, no screaming, not shouting, just the soft muffled voice of Mary speaking before the door once again was closed and her figure wandered back into the room, her expression twisted into that of confusion and concern, “…so … that was a delivery man, he told me that he had specific instructions to hand deliver this to the door of the Bloodmarch residence … but it’s addressed to both of you …” the woman explained slowly as she held up a simple white envelope with nothing but their names and the address writing perfectly on the front, “I’m worried about this, maybe we should hand it over to the detective…” she whispered, her voice shaking as she tried to keep her breathing at a normal speed, Robert was about to agree but was interrupted by Lucien jumping away from the warm embrace he was wrapped in to inspect it closer,

“But it’s a addressed to us, by the time the police get here, I’m going to have gone insane not knowing what’s in there … we open it and then call them … or call them and open it …” the teen argued, staring intently at the envelope, “Please, if it has anything to do with dad, I need to know” he whispered, the tremble of his voice seemed to hit the adults pretty hard as Robert nodded in agreement,

“Look, logically and realistically, I’d say contact the detective and hand it over for them to investigate … but I’m with Lucien here, I need to know …” he explained as he slowly raised from the seat and shuffled up behind Lucien, his gaze following the teens as he too stared down at the mail in Mary’s hand, the woman was about to argue but was quickly interrupted by Roberts worry filled voice, “If you think we should call them, call them but we’re opening it, the detectives number is on the kitchen counter by the phone” he mentioned before reaching out and taking the envelope in his hand without hesitation or protest from Mary who just sighed in defeat, turning on her heels and leaving the two with the questionable delivery.

Once Mary was out of the room, the two finally looked up from the thing in Roberts hand, locking eyes as if daring the other to open it, not a word spoken, neither one of them finding the courage to speak, even just a simple noise, the only sound in the entire home was once again Mary’s voice as she spoke with the detective on the phone, both of them knowing just how much trouble they were probably going to be in when the police did get there.

With shaky fingers, Robert pulled at the flap on the back of the envelope, ripping the glue from it place without tearing the paper, the suspense and collective terror of what was in the envelope could be felt from the two as the older man pushed the flap away from the opening before carefully slipping a few fingers inside to retrieve whatever was given to them.

As his fingers connected with the contents of the letter, he froze, his eyes widening with absolute horror and heartbreak as his vision blurred with new found tears, the world around him vanished as he dared himself to look inside, taking a peek at what he hoped, with all his heart, wasn’t what he thought it was but unfortunately, the world was against him and it had a harsh way of showing it.

When Robert hadn’t spoken in what the teen had felt was too long for this, he took the envelope from the man’s hands, expecting a scolding but seemed to notice how he was still complete frozen to the spot, unmoving, like a statue, so, in a desperate attempt to understand why Robert seemed to have stopped working, he pulled out the hidden mysteries of the envelope but quickly felt regret and despair as he stared down at the shiny black locks of his father’s long silky hair.

Lucien didn’t seem to acknowledge the rushed entrance of the woman he calls god-mother or even that he had collapsed to the floor, screaming in heartbreak and agony as he held his father’s hair tightly in his fists, tears streaming down his face. A pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around the teen as the rugged man fell to his knees, his body still frozen and his fingers frantically gripping onto any part of Lucien that would bring him closer and find comfort in holding the boy, the only thing they could hear over the teens cries were Mary’s trembling words to the detective as she watched the once perfectly soft locks of hair lay limp in the boys hand.


	9. Whips are fascinating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joseph isn't anywhere near ready to stop his fun and he knows that Damien is slowly breaking, unfortunately, so does Damien.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now that I’ve submitted my third deadline for first semester, I’m able to start writing and updating at a better rate again, well, until second semester starts getting out of hand that is but either way, here’s a new chapter :)
> 
> TW - Whips, Emotional manipulation/taunting

Loud, ear-piercing, agonising screams echoed through the halls, bouncing sharply off every cold, wet wall as a sickening slap of leather against skin followed each yell of pain.

Hours had passed and different weapons of torture were scattered across the stone floor of the dingy, desolate room. An overly tired man knelt in the middle of everything, arms pulled out to the sides by chains as he shivered from exhaustion and cold. Multiple deep gashes laid across Damien’s exposed back as blood dripped slowly down, creating small pools around his legs. The man’s breathing was barely audible, giving the illusion of death as he was circled like prey to a vulture, his eyes drooping, unable to stay open as he tried to plea with his gravely, aching voice,

“J-Joseph … please … s-stop” he whispered, the torture taking a toll on him as his weak muscles begged for rest until a simple wrong intake of breath caused him to cough painfully, his fingers clenching tightly onto the chains as he tried his hardest to ease some of the tension in his chest but to no avail, his entire body felt tight and in no way able to keep himself up.

A sinister laugh could be heard behind him as his tormentor admired his handiwork, slowly wrapping the whip around his hand for later use, a shiver running down the Pastors body as the leather of the weapon slides across the skin of his palm,

“Whips are fascinating aren’t they, a simple cowhide braided together to make such a powerful thing, very affective on animals, even more effective on humans” he explained, a dark tone twisting around his already evil voice as he stepped around Damien, climbing over the stretched chains connecting the kneeling man to the walls of the room, “you look good on your knees Damien, blood dripping down your back while you beg for a break, I should have done this years ago” Joseph taunted with a smirk, placing the handle of his weapon underneath the Victorians chin, pulling up the man’s face so he could take in how weak and drained he looked, “It’s been almost two weeks and you still haven’t given up, I’m impressed … I think we’ve been at this for a while, I guess I can let you rest for a while” the Pastor commented, letting Damien’s head fall as he left the man’s side, throwing the whip uncaringly across the room.

The Victorian man barely acknowledged the world around him as he stared at the floor underneath him, eyes glossed over with days of no sleep, he hadn’t even noticed much when he felt each chain be loosened and relocated to the wall he had come to know as his home, the only thing he managed to take in was the fact he was now laying, shaking and bleeding lightly on the floor. Soon, a harsh clink of metal on stone shocked Damien out of his daze, making him weakly turn his head toward the small bowl and cup placed in front of him, the first edible sustenance he had been given in several days, he was just very glad that Joseph remembered to keep giving him water.

With as much strength as he could possibly muster, Damien sat, half naked and wounded in a cold stone dungeon. Using a shaky hand, he grabbed the bowl, pulling it into his body, not knowing the next time he would get more, however, now the problem he had was that the man he once called friend was not only torturing him physically but also in any way that would slowly scratch into his mind, taking away all feelings of humanity and validation. Damien had noticed that he had slowly been changing what he was being given as food, first it was scraps of bread, then it was left over vegetables his children didn’t eat, now, it was scraps of meat but seeing the state he was in, the elder Bloodmarch was too far gone to care as he quickly forced the food down his throat before practically inhaling his water. A sigh of relief escaped past Damien’s lips from the small amount of food he was allowed until he had to move stiffly back over to his wall, leaning against it with a permanent expression of agony etched into his face while his torturer continued to torment him further,

“Seems like, despite what you said, I’m slowly breaking you, survival instincts are kicking in pretty quickly” Joseph explained as he leaned against one of the only exits of the room across from Damien, a villainous smirk plastered across his features as he watched his victim, “what would Robert think of you if he saw you like this, weak, would he realise how much of a bad choice he made wanting to-“ the pastor stopped, his eyes lighting up as if a lightbulb had just appeared over his head like some cartoon character. His dark, hate-filled eyes stared down at his neighbour as his smirk seemed to grow even larger on his face as he continued on with his taunts, “what would Lucien think if he saw his father like this, what would he say if he saw his father chained and humiliated, begging instead of fighting, how embarrassed he would feel at such a cowardly display …” the man in question was now glaring at him, fists clenched and breathing quicker than before, his now shorter hair sticking to his face with sweat and grease, “Oh, I forgot to mention, I sent them a little gift, something to make sure they know you won’t be coming back, not too sure if they think you’re dead yet but still, I think your hair will look great on the fireplace” he chuckled darkly, watching as Damien became more and more distressed, a few tears falling down his cheeks as he tried to fathom why Joseph would try and hurt his son, “I wonder how long before I should send them your head, I think Lucien would love to have a real decapitated head displayed in that ghastly house of yours” Joseph commented, waiting with anticipation for Damien’s reaction, he wasn’t expecting the man to run at him with as much force as he could handle, only for him to be pulled back and slammed down onto the ground by the chains connecting him to the wall.

Joseph’s eyes widened as he watched the display of rage, he had never seen such determination from any of his victims before and this, this was just the entertainment he needed. Throwing his head back, the man laughed, the sound echoing all around the room and bouncing directly into Damien’s ears as he hissed in pain, his wounds ripping open once again as his shoulder protested to the sudden pull he had just made them endure, by the time the goth had pushed himself up with excruciating pain shooting through every muscle in his body, Joseph was gone and he was alone again, the only sound around him was the distance drips of water and ominous tapping of stones around him. With a shaky breath, Damien carefully stood on wobbly legs, limping back over to his designated place but before he could make it, his body finally gave up, dropping him on his grazed, bloody knees, ripping his trousers just a little bit more than they already were as a heartbroken sob ripped from his chest and tears ran freely over his beaten face, the only thought running through his mind was that he may never see his son again.


	10. The firsts time you've laughed in so long

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Lucien and Ernest sit on one side of town, secluded in a classroom away from prying eyes, aa chat and some secrets pull the boys closer and help them both through this awful time; on the other side of town, Mary notices something she whished she didn't which pull up some questions and theories she'd wish she could ignore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realised that I haven't been putting warning in the notes before each chapter just in case people want to skip past certain things so I've gone back and changed the notes to add TW's :D Also if you'd like, go follow me on Tumblr under the name 'Harryandhishook'

A month had passed, an entire month with no sign of getting Damien back, Mary had legally taken full custody of Lucien until his eighteenth birthday since she was his godmother, Robert had managed to get himself a couple of little extra jobs as well as Lucien so they could continue paying rent and bills for the Bloodmarch house while the neighbours helped out as much as they could.

After a long discussion with his school, Lucien decided to go back, he didn’t have long left there until his exams and his graduation, but he knew he would need to continue his studies one day. Hugo had managed to have a talk with Lucien’s school year group, setting down some rules and tips about what to say or do about the situation, he wanted to keep the boys stress down so he can focus on something other than his dad.

Which came to his first day back and he was just as nervous as he was when it was his first day of school, Hugo and Ernest had given him a ride over so he didn’t have to face anyone before he was ready, knowing that he’d probably see most of his friends on the bus but he wasn’t really too bothered, he knew he would see them eventually but he was grateful for the carpool nonetheless, at least he had Ernest to distract him.

Lucien stayed in Hugo’s classroom all morning as the headmaster came to see how he was doing, his neighbour, not wanting to leave his side just yet until he was settled back in, had stayed in the room the entire time but he knew it had to be done. With a some help from his principle and a few of his teachers, he had everything he needed to catch up on his studies and to everyone’s surprise, the day went pretty smoothly, nothing was said and the teen kept his head down all day, Hugo wasn’t surprised when he saw the boy sat outside with his friends as they embraced him, holding him with all the love and affection they could possibly give while he cried to them, giving them the low down of everything but it made him relieved that Lucien still had people who cared.

As the day continued, it seemed Lucien’s mood was slowly lifting, his friends were helping a lot and it was definitely helping his teachers talk comfortably around him but the biggest helper of this whole ordeal, the one person who was really helping the teen come back out of his shell, was his best friend, Ernest.

It was lunch and with permission from Hugo, both Ernest and Lucien were sat on the ground near the back of the room, away from prying eyes if they were to spot them in there, two lunch trays placed side by side as they ate and chatted about nothing in particular,

“It’s kinda nice not having to sit near other people and listen to them chat about what they were up to last night, I can actually hear myself think for once” Ernest commented as he shoved a slightly cold chicken nugget into his mouth, frowning at the taste, “Seriously, when will this school learn that no one likes these shitty cheap ass nuggets” the boy complained as he reluctantly chewed the practically flavourless piece of meat, he reached into his backpack to retrieve his secret stash of pizza rolls, smiling proudly while he held the legendary item in the air, “It’s a good job I have these” he exclaimed before turning to a very amused but quizzical looking Lucien causing the younger of the two to chuckle, “Don’t worry, I cooked them this morning, I’m not eating them straight from the box … they’re just gonna be cold, at least they’ll be better than the schools gruel” he mentioned as he swallowed down the nugget, ready to happily chow down on his beloved pizza rolls.

Just as the glorious food was about to touch his lips, he froze as he heard a simple noise from beside him that he hadn’t heard in weeks, a small sound that slowly grew and grew until Lucien was clutching his sides with a grand smile on his face, he was laughing,

“E-Ernest … you’re a fucking idiot, man, I swear, you must be like ninety percent pizza roll by now” the emo laughed out as he wiped a single tear from his eye, leaning back against the wall of the classroom, he hadn’t noticed that Ernest was now staring at him, the corners of his lips turned upwards as well as tears threatening to spill over,

“…that’s the first time I’ve heard you laugh in so long…” he whispered softly, placing his now unimportant pizza roll down on his tray as he continued to smile with delight at the boy, “I’ve missed your laugh” these words finally caught Lucien’s attention as he turned to look at Ernest, raising an eyebrow, confused for a moment before realizing, he had indeed laughed for the first time in a month, a real laugh, not just a chuckle, a side splitting laugh.

The young emo sighed with a soft smile as he looked down at his so called ‘food’, pushing it away with his foot so he could stretched his legs across the floor, letting Ernest’s words really sink in for a moment before he finally decided to answer him,

“Well, I guess I haven’t really had anything to laugh about …” slowly and with slight hesitation, Lucien reached out towards his friend, his fingers itching to be closer as he felt like he was too far away from his friend to really know he was still here and this wasn’t just a dream.

As if Ernest could read his mind, the boy turned his hand over and allowed the older one to lace their fingers together, understanding just how much he needed someone close by in this shitty time of his life, so he held his hand, slowly stroking his thumb back and forth over the smooth pale skin of his friends hand,

“I’m glad I have you Ernest, you may be a dickhead but … you’re my dickhead, I know we don’t see eye to eye all the time and we are completely different but … you’re the only one who knows what to do when I need someone” Lucien confessed in a whisper as they continued to sit there, hands wrapped tightly in each other’s, “I guess, I want to thank you, for putting up with my bullshit through all this, thanks for being there for me” he finished, looking up at his friend, only now really noticing how much the young arsonist had changed in the month, he could see his stupid little moustache was now growing properly along with soft stubble around his jaw and a lot of his spots had cleared up leaving quite a smooth face behind, he could only now appreciate that his friend didn’t look too bad, a little hot maybe and apparently Ernest had the same idea as they both stared at each other, taking in the others features,

“You don’t have to thank me, I’m your friend and your neighbour, I would have been there for you either way … I wanted to help …” Ernest explained as he felt himself scoot just that little bit closer, he hadn’t realized just how close they had become or how quiet he was speaking but he knew that he shouldn’t continue this, he knew they were too close to be seen as just talking and he knew he wanted to lean in a little more but he couldn’t do that, not when Lucien was so vulnerable, at least, that’s what he thought, however, the way Lucien was also leaning in, the way he was gripping his hand just that extra bit tighter, the way they had both subconsciously shuffled in so there was no room left in between them, there was no doubt this was just one-sided,

“Ernest … I, well, I know I’m not exactly in the greatest of states right now but …” the emo paused as he looked down at his friends lips almost testing to see who would go first, “…Kiss me…” he whispered as he pushed as close as he possible could, their lips almost touching, giving the other enough time to pull away if needed, but just as the slight tickle of stubble ran over the top of Lucien’s lips,

“Sorry to interrupt boys but the bell is going to ring in a couple of minutes and I really need the room back” the boys jumped away from each other to turn towards the voice that interrupted them only to realise they had been caught red handed by Hugo himself, who was leaned against the doorframe, soft smile on his face and arms crossed, “I’ll drop you both off at Lucien’s after school tonight if you want some privacy, that alright?” the man asked as he entered the room to start setting up for his next lesson, “also, you can leave your trays on the back counter, I’ll get someone to pop them down so you two aren’t late” he explained as he peered over at the two who were now awkwardly getting their things together which only caused the teacher to chuckle.

However, on the other side of town, there was someone who wasn’t having as much entertainment, someone who was currently arms deep in theories and worries.

For the past few weeks, Mary had been thinking about what Robert had said, thinking back on their conversation about Joseph and his cult, she knew it was a long shot but at the same time, she wouldn’t put it past her ‘husband’ to do something as crazy as this for whatever crazy and insane reason.

As the woman used her time and day off to clean the house, she couldn’t stop thinking about everything Rob mentioned, she couldn’t stop theorising, all day long thinking about why Joseph could have done it, how he got away with it, how he didn’t get fingerprints on anything, how he could have possibly made an alibi, how he … it was no use, everything fit, nothing led her to him, there was nothing that could point all this to him at all, there was no reason for him to …

Mary froze, her eyes landing on a single picture in Josephs bed side draw, she had been so busy thinking, she hadn’t noticed what she was doing, hadn’t realized that she had been cleaning his side until she saw the picture, the reason that could have pushed Joseph to do this, a single polaroid of Joseph and Robert lounging on the yacht, a single reason why her husband would want Damien gone, the pastors entire heart in one image and someone had taken him, then she remembered, she remembered how he reacted around them at the barbeques, she remembered spotting how he tensed up every time they spoke about their love, she remembered how he had almost snapped his spatula when Damien had kissed Robert and confessed how much he loved him, then she remembered … she remembered their last gathering, Robert had told her that the others had found out about the ring, she remembered seeing her husband look and sound visibly pissed the rest of the day, she remembered how he had disappeared that night and came back covered in dirt and smelt like damp.

Slowly and quietly after she quickly checked around her for any signs of Joseph, Mary pulled the picture from the draw, wondering if there was any sort of clue as to where he could have taken Damien but before she could even turn over the polaroid, she felt something silky and thin fall passed her fingers and gently float through the air, swaying with the gentle breeze that ran through the house, but before the mysterious thing could touch the ground, Mary swooped down, catching the thing in her open palm to inspect it, unfortunately, the moment it laid still in her hand, she felt her gut twist and vomit threaten to rise from her as she stared at the long black pieces of material in her hand, Damien’s hair.

Without thinking much else, the woman turns the image over as quick as she possibly could, not preparing herself at all to see what could be on the back of the photograph but she needed to know, or maybe not as she felt her heart break for Damien.

‘MINE!’

That was all that was written there, four simple letters with such a dark background to them, a deep and sinister meaning but Mary knew from that moment, her best friend, if he was still alive, will definitely not survive much longer and it was all thanks to her husband.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have enough time to make sure she had any proof since she didn’t have her phone and she definitely couldn’t just take them as in that moment she heard the front door open and close, so, against her better judgement, she put them back as carefully as possible but with the footsteps of her husband ascending the stairs quickly, her heart raced, the echoes of each step became louder and louder until,

“Mary? Are you in here?” the voice of her husband asked as his large figure appeared in the doorway but the sheer surprise was evident on his face when he saw the woman in question smoothing down the bedsheets of the perfectly made bed with a soft smile on her face,

“Yes dear?” she asked in her usual, uncaring but slightly happy voice, her gaze lifted from the sheets to his expression, twisting her normally forced smile to a confused frown, “Joseph? Are you okay? You’re acting as if you weren’t expecting me here…” she commented as she stood up straight, stepping casually around the bed with the sway of her hips everyone had come to recognise,

“What? Oh, no, I just, wasn’t expecting you to have cleaned our room…” he whispered before he forced his usual ‘everything is alright’ smile onto his face as he stepped closer, placing a hand gently on her hip as he continued to speak, “Actually, I came to ask something of you, I know I try to get you to stop going out to the bar so much and I understand that this last month have been painful for you and Robert, but I was wondering if you would take Robert out to ‘Jim and Kim’s’, he still seems so upset and … well, I guess I was thinking that maybe something familiar would help him” Joseph explained, pulling his wife as close as he could but Mary knew something was up, he never touched her like this or ask her to go to the bar, even if something really bad had happened in their life.

With a most gentle and loving smile the woman could muster, Mary looked up at the evil man and nodded, placing a hand softly on his chest to show some sort of ‘love’ before she spoke,

“I think that would be a lovely idea, he needs a friend right now and probably a strong drink too” she agreed before stepping back, “I’ll give him a text and we’ll head out soon, if he’s awake, you know what he’s like” she teased with a little chuckle as she carefully stepped around him to leave the room, “don’t wait up for me, I’ll be back pretty late” she called back as she left completely to get in contact with Rob but she definitely was not going to be going to the bar with him and, while it may not be a cryptid exactly, they were definitely going to be going on an investigation, she was going to find out just were that bastard was hiding Damien even if that meant she died trying.


End file.
